A chat about VHF Radios
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 3:50 pm
Hi everyone.
Being a bit of a fair weather sailor it has been a bit cold for me to get out on the water lately.... but the cold and rainy weather has been a good time to "tinker" with the setup on my Investigator. This week I have been tinkering with safety and I would like to hear what everyone else thinks about having an onboard VHF radio....
As our Investigators don't usually go offshore a VHF (or UHF) isn't "required".
-but-
Has anyone with a VHF, ever actually used their VHF radio in a safety scenario.
-or-
Has anyone ever been in, or seen a situation where you wished you had a VHF radio, but didn't have one... and now you wouldn't be without it.
A friend of mine commented that you've always got your mobile phone - (which is all well and good if you've got reception out on the water). But more importantly, other vessels don't have your phone number The great thing about a radio is that everyone can hear you - and you can hear everyone else without having to know them individually
Anyway, has anyone got some good advice to help me decide if I should install a VHF, or to buy a hand-held marine radio....
What do you think about the type of radio to use on an Investigator specifically.
- 27mhz seems a bit of a waste of time to install now, when you have the option of choosing a VHF for practically the same price.
- UHF doesn't seem to be very relevant to near shore marine use - but again for about the same price why not have a VHF/UHF radio if you're going to the trouble of installing one.
- And how about a hand-held. A Chinese 8W VHF/UHF "Beofeng" can be delivered to the house for less than $80 - even "watertight"? ones . For that price it only has to work once or twice to have made it a worthwhile bit of kit sitting on the cabin shelf (as long as it does work ) But the big benefit of a hand-held is that it has its own antenna & battery and it doesn't need to be installed. I have been looking at Chinese hand-held VHF/UHF's up to 10W tx power, some with GPS, and some claiming IP67 Water "resistance" and all less than $100 delivered.
- Installing a fixed radio will always give the best range - but where do you put the antenna on a trailer sailer - (I've seen some old posts suggesting an insulated backstay can be used as an antenna).... I only know a little bit about UHF/VHF but I "think" antennas have to be "tuned" - so any old length of wire can't be used as a "good" antenna.
Anyway...
I'd love to have the advice of someone with experience in these matters... or even just to hear your personal preference on it.
At this point I'm thinking a Hand-Held might be on the top of my fathers day wish list (...Sunday Sept 6th, dad's)
<edits were just for syntax & clarification>
Being a bit of a fair weather sailor it has been a bit cold for me to get out on the water lately.... but the cold and rainy weather has been a good time to "tinker" with the setup on my Investigator. This week I have been tinkering with safety and I would like to hear what everyone else thinks about having an onboard VHF radio....
As our Investigators don't usually go offshore a VHF (or UHF) isn't "required".
-but-
Has anyone with a VHF, ever actually used their VHF radio in a safety scenario.
-or-
Has anyone ever been in, or seen a situation where you wished you had a VHF radio, but didn't have one... and now you wouldn't be without it.
A friend of mine commented that you've always got your mobile phone - (which is all well and good if you've got reception out on the water). But more importantly, other vessels don't have your phone number The great thing about a radio is that everyone can hear you - and you can hear everyone else without having to know them individually
Anyway, has anyone got some good advice to help me decide if I should install a VHF, or to buy a hand-held marine radio....
What do you think about the type of radio to use on an Investigator specifically.
- 27mhz seems a bit of a waste of time to install now, when you have the option of choosing a VHF for practically the same price.
- UHF doesn't seem to be very relevant to near shore marine use - but again for about the same price why not have a VHF/UHF radio if you're going to the trouble of installing one.
- And how about a hand-held. A Chinese 8W VHF/UHF "Beofeng" can be delivered to the house for less than $80 - even "watertight"? ones . For that price it only has to work once or twice to have made it a worthwhile bit of kit sitting on the cabin shelf (as long as it does work ) But the big benefit of a hand-held is that it has its own antenna & battery and it doesn't need to be installed. I have been looking at Chinese hand-held VHF/UHF's up to 10W tx power, some with GPS, and some claiming IP67 Water "resistance" and all less than $100 delivered.
- Installing a fixed radio will always give the best range - but where do you put the antenna on a trailer sailer - (I've seen some old posts suggesting an insulated backstay can be used as an antenna).... I only know a little bit about UHF/VHF but I "think" antennas have to be "tuned" - so any old length of wire can't be used as a "good" antenna.
Anyway...
I'd love to have the advice of someone with experience in these matters... or even just to hear your personal preference on it.
At this point I'm thinking a Hand-Held might be on the top of my fathers day wish list (...Sunday Sept 6th, dad's)
<edits were just for syntax & clarification>